Lawsuit pleads with gov't to do more to evacuate Dutch still trapped in Gaza

Lawyer Samira Sabir is starting summary proceedings against the Dutch government on behalf of Shady Okasha, a Dutch man trapped in Gaza. The lawsuit is aimed at getting the Dutch government to do more to evacuate the Dutch people still in the warzone constantly bombarded by Israel. “I will ask the judge to hold the Dutch government accountable for its duty of care,” the lawyer told NOS.

Since May 7, the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been closed and the Netherlands has been unable to get anyone out of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government controls the borders of Gaza and people are only allowed to leave the area with the permission of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

The Israeli Ministry told NOS that the Netherlands has submitted 112 requests for evacuating people from Gaza since the beginning of the war on October 7 last year. The Israeli Ministry of Defense granted 97 of those requests. The other 15 were denied for security reasons, though the Israeli Ministry did not say what the reasons were.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs told NOS that it won’t give exact figures because it “doesn’t want to hinder the process.” Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp told the broadcaster that they were doing “a great deal” to get Dutch people out of Gaza. “We have been able to get over 90 people out of Gaza,” he said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it submits lists with details of people the Netherlands wants to evacuate from Gaza to the Israeli Ministry of Defense almost every week. Since May, not a single request has been approved. “Despite numerous inquiries through all our diplomatic channels,” the Ministry said.

Lawyer Sabir believes the government needs to do more. The situation is terrible for Dutch people in Gaza and the time for “asking nicely” is over, she said. “The Netherlands can summon the Israeli ambassador. That is the least it can do at this time.”

Minister Veldkamp responded to NOS: “I can summon the ambassador, but I see that countries like France or Canada are also currently unable to get people out.” He did not explain why this was an argument for not summoning the ambassador. The Minister said he planned to send a letter to the Israeli Minister of Defense soon. “It is simply important that this gets moving.”